Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 127 /Thursday, July 2, 1998 / Notices 36293

centrally and should not be part of an

applicant’s proposed budget.

4. Book and cultural allowance:

Participants are entitled to and escorts

are reimbursed a one-time cultural

allowance of $150 per person, plus a

participant book allowance of $50. U.S.

staff do not get these benefits.

5. Consultants. May be used to

provide specialized expertise or to make

presentations. Daily honoraria generally

do not exceed $250 per day.

Subcontracting organizations may also

be used, in which case the written

agreement between the prospective

grantee and subcontractor should be

included in the proposal.

6. Room rental, which generally

should not exceed $250 per day.

7. Materials development. Proposals

may contain costs to purchase, develop,

and translate materials for participants.

8. One working meal per project. Per

capita costs may not exceed $5–8 for a

lunch and $14–20 for a dinner,

excluding room rental. The number of

invited guests may not exceed

participants by more than a factor of

two-to-one.

9. A return travel allowance of $70 for

each participant which is to be used for

incidental expenditures incurred during

international travel.

10. All USIA-funded delegates will be

covered under the terms of a USIAsponsored health insurance policy. The

premium is paid by USIA directly to the

insurance company.

11. Other costs necessary for the

effective administration of the program,

including salaries for grant organization

employees, benefits, and other direct

and indirect costs per detailed

instructions in the application package.

Note: the 20 percent limitation of

‘‘administrative costs’’ included in

previous announcements does not apply

to this RFP. Please refer to the

Application Package for complete

budget guidelines.

Review Process: USIA will

acknowledge receipt of all proposals

and will review them for technical

eligibility. Proposals will be deemed

ineligible if they do not fully adhere to

the guidelines established herein and in

the Application Packet. Eligible

proposals will be forwarded to panels of

USIA officers for advisory review. All

eligible proposals will also be reviewed

by the program office, as well the USIA

geographic regional office and the USIS

post overseas, where appropriate.

Proposals may also be reviewed by the

USIA’s Office of General Counsel by

other Agency elements. Funding

decisions are at the discretion of the

USIA Associate Director for Education

and Cultural Affairs. Final technical

authority for assistance awards (grants

or cooperative agreements) resides with

USIA’s grants officer.

Review Criteria: USIA will consider

proposals based on their conformance

with the objectives and considerations

already stated in the RFP, as well as the

following criteria:

1. Quality of Program Idea: Proposals

should exhibit originality, substance,

precision, and relevance to the Agency

mission.

2. Progam Planning/Ability to Achieve

Program Objectives: Detailed agenda

and relevant work plan should

demonstrate substantive undertakings

and logistical capacity. Agenda and plan

should adhere to the program overview

and guidelines described above.

Objectives should be reasonable,

feasible, and flexible. Proposals should

clearly demonstrate how the institution

will meet the program objectives and

plan.

3. Multipler Effect/Impact: Proposed

programs should strengthen long-term

mutual understanding, including

maximum sharing of information and

establishment of long-term institutional

and individual linkages.

4. Support of Diversity: Proposals

should demonstrate the substantive

support of the Bureau’s policy on

diversity. Achievable and relevant

features should be cited in both program

administration (selection of

participants, program venue, and

program evaluation) and program

content (orientation and wrap-up

sessions, program meetings, resource

materials, and follow-up activities.

5. Institutional Capacity/Reputation/

Ability: Proposed personnel and

institutional resources should be

adequate and appropriate to achieve the

program’s or project’s goal. Proposals

should demonstrate an institutional

record of successful exchange programs,

including responsible fiscal

management and full compliance with

all reporting requirements for past

Agency grants as determined by USIA’s

Office of Contracts. The Agency will

consider the past performance of prior

recipients and the demonstrated

potential of new applicants.

6. Follow-on Activities: Proposals

should provide a plan for continued

follow-up activity (without USIA

support) which ensures that USIAsupported programs are not isolated

events.

7. Evaluation Plan: Proposals should

provide a plan for a thorough and

objective evaluation of the program/

project by the grantee institution.

8. Cost-Effectiveness/Cost Sharing:

The overhead and administrative

components of the proposal, including

salaries and honoraria, should be kept

as low as possible. All other items

should be necessary and appropriate.

Proposals should maximize cost-sharing

through other private sector support as

well as institutional direct funding

contributions.

Notice

The terms and conditions published

in this RFP are binding and may not be

modified by any USIA representative.

Explanatory information provided by

USIA that contradicts published

language will not be binding. Issuance

of the RFP does not constitute an award

commitment on the part of the

Government. The Agency reserves the

right to reduce, revise, or increase

proposal budgets in accordance with the

need of the program and the availability

of funds. Organizations will be expected

to cooperate with USIA in evaluating

their programs under the principles of

the Government Performance and

Results Act of 1993, which requires

federal agencies to measure and report

on the results of their programs and

activities.

Notification

Final awards cannot be made until

funds have been fully appropriated by

the Congress, allocated, and committed

through internal USIA procedures.

Awarded grants will be subject to

periodic reporting and evaluation

requirements.

Dated: June 23, 1998.

John P. Loiello,

Associate Director for the Bureau of

Educational and Cultural Affairs.

[FR Doc. 98–17165 Filed 7–1–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M

UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF

PEACE

Announcement of the 1998 Unsolicited

Fall Grant Program

AGENCY: United States Institute of Peace.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Agency announces its

Upcoming Deadline for the 1998

Unsolicited Grant Fall Competition,

which offers support for research,

education and training, and the

dissemination of information on

international peace and conflict

resolution.

Deadline: October 1, 1998.

DATES: Application Material Available

Upon Request, Receipt Date for Return

of Application: October 1, 1998,

Notification of Awards: Late January

1999.
36294 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 127 /Thursday, July 2, 1998 / Notices

ADDRESSES: For Application Package:

United States Institute of Peace, Grant

Program, 1550 M Street, NW., Suite 700,

Washington, DC 20005–1708, (202) 429–

3842 (phone), (202) 429–6063 (fax),

(202) 457–1719 (TTY), Email:

grantlprogram@usip.org.

Applications also available on-line at

our web site: www.usip.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

The Grant Program, Phone (202) 429–

3842.

Dated: June 26, 1998.

Bernice J. Carney,

Director, Office of Administration.

[FR Doc. 98–17662 Filed 7–1–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–AR–M